This book on "Polymer Fracture" might as well have been called "Kinetic Theory of Polymer Fracture." The term "kinetic theory," however, needs some de finition or, at least, some explanation. A kinetic theory deals with and particu larly considers the effect of the existence and discrete size, of the motion and of the physical properties of molecules on the macroscopic behavior of an ensemble, gaseous or other. A kinetic theory of strength does have to consider additional aspects such as elastic and anelastic deformations, chemical and physical reactions, and the sequence and distribution of...